BOOK 2

Book 2 Revision

Lines 1-20                                           Aeneas begins reluctantly to explain to Dido and her                                                      guests why the Greeks  built the wooden horse

The Wooden Horse

·         The Greeks built a horse the size of a mountain

·         They pretended it was an offering to make sure of their safe return home

·         They drew lots for the places

·         They filled the ‘womb’ of the horse with a squad of armed soldiers

Lines 21-39                                         The Greeks sail away.  The Trojans find the horse by                                                        the shore, and wonder what to do with it.

·         The Greeks sailed away and hid on the island of Tenedos

·         The Trojans thought the Greeks had sailed home

·         They opened the gates and went down to the camp on the beach

·         They gazed in wonder at the wooden horse

·         Thymoetes urged them to drag it inside the city

·         Capys suspected it was a trick of the Greeks

·         He told the Trojans to hurl it into the sea/ light a fire under it/ make holes in its belly and have a look inside

Lines 40-56                                         The discussion is interrupted by Laocoon, the priest of                                                   Neptune, who  rushes down from the citadel to scold                                                     the Trojans for their stupidity

Laocoon was the priest of Neptune.  He said to the Trojans:

Ø  Do you think the enemy has gone

Ø  There are Greeks concealed inside the horse

Ø  I’m afraid of the Greeks, even when they’re offering gifts

So saying he hurled his spear into the side of the horse.  It stuck there and the cavernous hollow of the horse’s womb echoed and groan.  But the gods were against the Trojans and Laocoon was not believed.

Lines 57-144                                       The Lies of Sinon

Sinon, a Greek, surrendered to the Trojans in order to betray them with lies.  His hands were bound and he was brought to King Priam. 

Everything Sinon said was designed to win the confidence of the Trojans so that they would drag the wooden horse inside the city of Troy:

•          Sinon was sent to serve as a squire to Palamedes.

•          Palamedes was a powerful man, and while he was alive Sinon enjoyed something of his name and reputation.

•          It was the plausible lies of Ulysses (Odysseus) which killed Palamedes

•          When Palamedes died Sinon led a miserable life and swore he’d get his own back on Ulysses

•          Ulysses heard about this and started telling lies about Sinon and making plots

The Greeks were tired of the Trojan war. They wanted to go home.  But they were prevented from doing so by storms.  They asked the oracle of Apollo what they should do

The Oracle:

When the Greek ships wanted to set…